Plant Manager

AEROFOAM USA LLC•Abbeville, SC

29d•Onsite

About The Position

Aerofoam USA is seeking an experienced, hands-on Plant Manager to lead our NBR rubber manufacturing operations in Abbeville, South Carolina. This is a high-impact leadership role for a manufacturing professional who can translate strategy into daily execution, develop capable leaders, and build a culture of safety, accountability, quality, and continuous improvement. Reporting to the President and General Manager, the Plant Manager will have broad responsibility for plant performance across production, people, safety, quality, maintenance, delivery, and cost. The successful candidate will be a visible presence on the floor, working closely with supervisors and employees while partnering with leadership and support functions to strengthen the operation. This is an opportunity to make a measurable difference in a growing manufacturing environment, establish scalable systems, and help develop the next generation of plant leaders.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or related field is required.
5+ years experience and demonstrated success leading manufacturing operations with responsibility for production performance, safety, quality, maintenance, cost, and employee development.
Experience building effective teams, developing supervisors, and creating a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
Technical knowledge of rubber, polymer, foam, plastics, or similar process manufacturing.
A track record of improving productivity, reducing scrap and downtime, strengthening quality, and meeting production commitments.
Experience leading Lean methods, root-cause analysis, standard work, visual management, and structured problem-solving.
Ability to interpret process data, production schedules, quality specifications, maintenance information, and operating costs.
Strong communication, coaching, planning, decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration skills in a cross cultural, global team environment.
A practical, floor-oriented leadership style combined with the ability to think strategically and manage competing priorities.
Relevant technical or business education, or an equivalent combination of education and practical experience.
Availability to support all shifts, planned outages, and urgent plant needs.

Nice To Haves

Plant Manager experience preferred.
Direct NBR experience preferred.
Experience preferred with mixing, kneading, milling, extrusion, curing, foaming, or related manufacturing processes.
Experience with manufacturing ERP systems and proficiency with production reporting and performance metrics preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead daily operations across production, staffing, safety, quality, maintenance, delivery, and cost performance.
Set priorities for supervisors and operating teams, establish clear accountability, and ensure consistent execution across all shifts.
Develop supervisors and high-potential employees through coaching, feedback, training, cross-training, and structured performance expectations.
Build a collaborative, high-performance culture grounded in trust, communication, ownership, and follow-through.
Partner with Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain, and leadership to resolve constraints and improve plant-wide performance.
Translate business objectives into practical operating plans, measurable goals, and timely action.
Serve as a visible and credible leader who earns the confidence and trust of employees at every level.
Lead manufacturing operations to meet customer, safety, quality, production, delivery, and cost objectives.
Maintain an active presence on the floor and engage employees in identifying problems and improving processes.
Oversee material preparation, mixing, kneading, milling, extrusion, and curing or foaming processes, as applicable.
Establish production plans, staffing priorities, standard work, visual management, and effective shift handoffs.
Strengthen safety performance through proactive hazard identification, employee engagement, training, and timely corrective action.
Partner with Quality to prevent defects, improve process capability, identify root causes, and reduce scrap and rework.
Oversee maintenance to ensure equipment reliability, preventive maintenance, and corrective maintenance to reduce downtime and improve overall equipment effectiveness.
Use production, quality, maintenance, and cost data to identify constraints, prioritize resources, and track corrective actions.
Lead Lean initiatives, structured problem-solving, waste reduction, and operating cost improvement.
Improve workforce flexibility through cross-training, skills development, and succession planning.
Communicate plant results, risks, resource needs, and improvement plans to leadership with clear owners, milestones, and deadlines.